Hi listers,
Here is my delirium about a machine I would like someone to create... I
would like to know what potential users and/or developpers think of this
idea to see if I can forget it right away or if others would be interested
to see it existing.
   I would like - and I believe modern technology and ancient wisdom would
allow for it -, a cross-over betwween a "Road-runner" and a virtual Slade
and stylus.

   Physical description. Imagine a rectangular box of about 3 by 2 by 1
inches that would be held vertically. On the inferior half, there would be a
flower-shaped set of keys with the 4 navigating arrows and an "Enter" key in
the middle. Just above this miniature keyboard, a rectangle symbolizing one
8-dots Braille cell would be found. On the very top, left and right, a
backspace and a space key would be placed.

   How to use this device? The novelty is, this Braille cell would be used
to input, not to output Braille. You would write the desired 8-dot Braille
letter with a stylus, then you validate it with the enter key. Since the
device would be so small, you would not need to move your fingers in order
to validate the character once you've completed it. 8-dot Braille would be
required so that the 256 signs of the ascii table can be emulated. The
little "flower" I mentioned at the beginning would be used to navigate in
the menus. If one made a mistake, either while typing a Braille character or
in entering accidentally a menu, the backspace key could be used to cancel
the last dot typed or last enter pressed. Through chords between the space
bar and Braille characters, one could simulate all the remaining keys of a
standard PC keyboard.

   Software specifications. The device would have about 4mg memory, would be
menu driven, would have a headphone jack, a port to connect it to the PC,
and a volume control. It would speak using the "Eloquence" synthesis which
can speak in many different languages. If we could improve it even further,
we would have several sets of Braile tables which would allow the user to
input in Grade 2 in various languages. One would just have to select the
grade 2 option in the menus.

   What would this machine allow? This device would allow you to read books
or whatever "Text-only" file (in various languages), would have a phone
book, an organizer, an alarm clock, a small text-editor. One would input
everything through the virtual slade.

   What would be this machine fortés? Its great advantages would be its
light weight (+/- 200g), its small size, its large memory, allowing for both
reading and writing in various languages, its long battery life, and its
rather inexpensive price (+/- 400Ç). It would be a device to take short
notes, to have an agenda, and to listen to books everywhere, in any
position. Conceptually, this machine would not be a State-of-the-art
notetaker: one could probably not use it to take extensive notes at a
meeting. But it would be perfect to write down people's contact information,
appointments, directions, etc; or to annotate study matterials or to correct
some essays.

   I am not a technician, just a user, so I let you judge of the feasability
of this project. A lot of it is not new: the "Road-Runner" is a very
efficient inexpensive reading machine. But, if I am not mistaken, it only
reads in English and one cannot make any change in the text. Also, it may be
subjective but I don't find the voices so attractive. The Memona plus, a
Finish invention, allows people to input information in Braille, but it only
has 64K memory and costs about 750Ç. The big novelty in my idea is the use
of a stylus and a virtual slade to input one's writing. Indeed, I really
wonder why no developper has yet exploited this possibility. I think that
would be a great way to save the space of a rather large keyboard (Able to
accommodate the size of large fingers), and to add inputing capabilities to
the existing small reading machines.

   What do all the Braille writing fans think of this idea?
    Thank you in advance for any remark/comment you can send me off-list.

            Séverine Renard


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